Ryan Harris to delay knee surgery until after next month's tour of South Africa

Tue 7 Jan 2014, 5:20 PM AEDT

Photo

Ryan Harris was one of Australia's stand-out performers during their Ashes 5-0 whitewash of England.

Getty Images: Ryan Pierse

Ashes hero Ryan Harris says he will put off knee surgery until after Australia's three-Test tour to South Africa next month to play against the top-ranked Proteas.

Harris, the man-of-the-match as Australia wrapped up a 5-0 series clean sweep against England in Sydney on Sunday, says he needs a clean out of his right knee to remove fragments of floating bone.

"My knee is no different now than it was a month ago or six weeks ago," he said.

"Unless something really bad goes wrong, which I don't think it will, after Africa we've got enough time off to get it (knee) cleaned up and go from there."

Following the tour of South Africa in March, Australia will not have another Test series until October against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, which will allow Harris time to recover from the surgery.

Harris, who took 22 wickets in the Ashes series, revealed he considered having knee surgery that would have ruled him out of the fourth and fifth Tests against England.

He says he had discussions with his surgeon before Christmas as he felt the effects of back-to-back second and third Tests in Adelaide and Perth.

He went on to play through the pain and earned man-of-the-match honours in Sydney with match figures of 8 for 61 as Australia completed a series whitewash.

I want to be in this team as long as I can, (so) I'll put up with it.

Ryan Harris

"There's bits of bone floating around (and) we were thinking about doing it then and there and missing the rest of the series," he said.

"But I wanted to play five games. I wanted to be a part of it for the whole thing."

Harris says the floating bone caused by previous injuries has left him with little cartilage in his right knee, which swells up after a day's play.

But he insists the condition will not keep him from bowling against the number one-ranked South Africans.

At 34 - and having only made his Test debut at 29 - Harris knows he does not have long left in international cricket.

"You either decide whether you want to go through the pain or you don't, it's as simple as that," he said.

"I want to be in this team as long as I can, (so) I'll put up with it."

With Johnson fresh from taking 37 wickets at 13.9 in the Ashes, Siddle said Australia plan to pepper the Proteas with another all-out assault.

"I can't see why not. I think the way we've played, we've played like that against them in the past and had success," Siddle said.

"I think we are (the best attack), it shows through the consistency we've had against England here throughout a five Test series.

"With Mitch bowling fast and Ryan and I doing our role and Nathan with the spin from his end, the way we worked together at different stages broke partnerships and didn't let partnerships get big on us.

"That's what caused all the collapses so that's what we're looking to do over there and it could be a very good year for us if we continue to do that."